Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The name of Harry Turtledove is well known to readers of fantasy and science fiction. Turtledove is an historian, and most of what he writes is in the "alternative history" genre. A fine collection of short stories, available in paperback, is his Agent of Byzantium . These stories are set…
In answer to a question, the following about the unicorn, a supposed "New Age" symbol: The unicorn, or monoceros (one-horn), was known around the ancient world. Some scholars believe it may have been the one-horned goat that is still bred today. Others think it may have originated in tales of…
3. A Brief Survey of Esther (continued from the previous issue) Haman told the king that "a certain people" were rebellious against him, and that Haman wanted to rid the king of their noxious presence. The king agreed, and the two sat down to a feast. This is the third…
It has become routine in October for some Christian schools to send out letters warning parents about the evils of Halloween, and it has become equally routine for me to be asked questions about this matter. "Halloween" is simply a contraction for All Hallows’ Eve. The word "hallow" means "saint,"…
2. The Setting of the Book of Esther (continued from previous issue) Astyages E. W. Faulstich presents his arguments in his book History, Harmony, The Exile & Return . 1 To understand it, we have to have some background. The Assyrians ruled the near east. Median king Cyaxeres decided to…
In my commentary on Judges, I demonstrated that Jephthah in his Spirit-led vow intended to offer to Yahweh the first person who greeted him from the doors of his house after the battle. Since it was a custom for the young women to come out dancing to greet the returning…
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During the staging of his play before the king, Hamlet mutters the word “Wormwood.” Why? Irwin Matus suggests the following: “Rarely glossed in editions of the play, wormwood is accepted as meaning only something bitter, from the taste of the plant of that name. However, the plant was also used…
Shakespeare’s two tetrologies on English history trace the shift from a sacrally based political order (Richard II) to a “Machiavellian” one (Richard III). That is the sequence of actual history. But the sequence of Shakespeare’s composition is different. Shakespeare wrote the historically later tetrology (2 Parts of Henry VI and…
Markus Barth highlights the judicial cast of Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:7 that we “show the surpassing riches of His grace.” The verb “show” or “prove” is a lawcourt term, pointing to the presentation of evidence or a judicial demonstration. God has raised us up in Jesus to the heavenly…
Ephesians 2:14: He Himself is our peace. Jesus is the one who brings peace between God and man. He has reconciled us to God, and brought near those who have been far off. But in our sermon text Paul is chiefly concerned with the peace that Jesus has brought between…
According to Paul, the church is being built into a holy dwelling, a temple in which the Spirit dwells. This has many implications, but let me highlight one. According to the Old Testament, temples were holy places whose holiness had to be guarded and defended. Levites guarded the tabernacle and…
From Francis Bacon’s De Augmentis Scientiarum , 7.1: “For as the fable goes of the basilisk, that if he sees you first, you die for it, but if you see him first, he dies; so itis with deceits, impostures, and evil arts, which, if they be first espied, they lose…
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